THÉ-DANSANT
Thé-dansant
Short fiction film
21 minutes
2024
Short synopsis
A love couple is on holiday on the northern French coast. They reminisce about their long-standing relationship, but the love seems to be fading. As a tragic knight wanders through decaying passages and rooms, and a group of elderly people dance different waltzes together, this poetic short explores the connection between love, dance and nostalgia.
Director's statement
The film grew out of my fascination with the thé-dansant: an old dancing tradition where people came together to dance. It used to be the place for young people to find love. For a long time, it was quite natural to go to ballroom dancing lessons specifically for this purpose. Although the tradition of dancing will probably never really go away, today it is mainly practiced by older people.
The younger generations have a new, rule-free love ritual. My film “Thé-dansant” explores the contrast between ancient and modern love. While the modern love couple struggles to connect with each other, the older generations cheerfully dance on. More and more, we are looking for complete, rule-free and hedonistic freedom. In what ways can we feel love for each other in this world full of new desires?
This short film, on the one hand, looks back nostalgically at this bygone era, which carries a certain clarity and simplicity, on the other, "Thé-dansant" tries to confront itself with this nostalgia. What is longing for a lost time? Perhaps this longing tells less about the “good past", but rather exposes the pain of the present.
In this sense, cinema for me is about the idea of ‘being removed’. In cinema, we watch other worlds that are not ours. We immerse ourselves in the film, for a while it feels like we are really there. But at some point comes the realisation of the now, the fact that what is happening on screen is not “our own”. This tension of wanting to be somewhere and not being able to be there can be seen both in Thé-dansant and in nostalgia, but for me it is also inherent to film as an art form.
Director: Theo Warnier
Production: Theo Warnier, KASK & Conservatorium
Film available upon request (theo@theowarnier.com)
